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Golf ball sized hail dents East St. Louis cars 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - It's the worst storm Ron Swanson has seen in his life after living in East St. Louis for nearly 50 years.“I never saw hail this big before in my life," Swanson said.Golf ball-sized hail raining down, denting his truck and cracking his windshield Monday afternoon.“Messed up my window and my truck," Swanson said. "It busts my sister-in-law's car back window out.” Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ To add insult to injury, there were still about 3,500 people without power on Monday due to recent storms in the Metro East. Downed trees and power lines spread out on sidewalks and residential properties. A Cahokia street team crew cleaned up one of the several down trees in the Centreville area.According to Ameren's outage map, about 100 people were still without power in the Centreville area. A timeline to restore power is unknown.Swanson said the only thing he can do the next time a similar storm roll through town is to, "Pray, tha...

FBI's 10 Most Wanted in St. Louis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The FBI is turning up the heat in the manhunt for the first St. Louis area suspect to make the FBI’s nationwide Ten Most Wanted list in nearly 60 years. Donald Eugene Fields II’s alleged crimes against children certainly show he belongs on the list, according to the FBI.“Worst case scenario … it’s a nightmare,” said Jay Greenburg, Special Agent-in-Charge for the FBI-St. Louis.Fields II, 59, now appears on wanted posters, websites, and billboards across the country.Fields II allegedly offered sex with a minor girl in his care to another man, in exchange for vacation trips and more.“The allegations involve cash, cars, motorcycles, Christmas presents,” Greenberg said. “Exchanging a child’s innocence for a thing of value converts this from hands on sexual abuse into sexual trafficking.”Fields II was indicted on a federal sex trafficking charge December 2022. He already faced state charges of statutory rape, sodomy, and molestation filed in 2019 for alleged sexual abuse of at...

St. Louis lotto players take their chance on $900M Powerball

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The Monday night Powerball jackpot nears a billion dollars at $900 million. If you aren’t so lucky, there's another chance Tuesday with Mega Millions at $640 million.Since Powerball hasn't produced a grand prize winner in almost three months, the pot now sits at $900 million.The third largest ever."I'm not very lucky, but maybe we'll luck out, me and a couple of guys at work,” said Don Grimes, a lottery player.Monday's Powerball drawing and Tuesday’s Mega Millions are nearing close to a record-breaking combined $1.5 billion. Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ So, what would you do with the money?"Move to Florida. Buy a house, buy a boat, travel a lot, things like that,” said Julie Ronay, a lottery player."Obviously, get caught up on all of your bills, finances, help family members," said Mike Holba, a lottery player. "I do like to think of myself as a generous person, so I would probably do what I can to help dog shelters.""I always thou...

Illinois Treasurer’s office promoting ‘affordable’ private student loans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs says far too many students are graduating from college with too much debt.It’s a nationwide issue Frerichs hopes to address. The treasurer’s office is partnering with the nonprofit ISL Education Lending to offer what they call “transparent and affordable private student loans.” Qualifying Illinois students and families can use the loans to attend nonprofit colleges or universities in the state of Illinois.“What we’re trying to do is partner with the private sector to offer lower interest rates. We’re not looking to compete with federally-guaranteed loans, but to supplement when there’s a funding gap,” Frerichs said.This loan program was born from the Student Investment Account Act. Passed in 2019, this legislation allows the treasurer to invest up to 5% of the state investment portfolio to provide affordable and responsible educational loan products to Illinois residents. Reported house explosion in St. Charles; 5 peopl...

St. Louis County EMS and fire dispatchers using computer-generated voice  

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Central County Emergency 911 is one of three dispatch centers in St. Louis County, providing critical information to fire and EMS personnel.Jason Nettles, the agency’s executive director, said a new alert system currently being implemented in St. Louis County utilizes a computer-generated voice to help relay information.“You’re hearing the same consistent cadence, same voice, time after time,” Nettles said. Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ “There’s no question about what the call is or what’s going on,” said Capt. Matt Coppin for the Metro West Fire Protection District.Nettles said that in addition to sharing a clear voice with first responders, the new system also allows dispatchers to notify multiple departments immediately.“If you have a first-alarm residential structure fire, for instance, it’s likely there will be units from maybe three or four different fire districts,” Nettles said.“If you’re dispatching 12, 15 truck...

Alleged rogue cop charged with kidnapping suspect, breaking his jaw

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - St. Louis County police say they’ve solved the mystery of the beaten and bloody man found in a Kinloch field on the Fourth of July.A witness reported seeing a police car near the injured man—a car from a different jurisdiction. That witness tip turned out to be the key to solving the case.Without that witness, who happened to be driving by a mostly abandoned part of Kinloch that evening, it’s impossible to know whether we’d ever know about this case of a cop who allegedly went rogue.It’s a case FOX 2 featured earlier this month. The witness posted her shocking discovery on Facebook and said she noticed the police car in question was from Northwoods. She thought it was strange because Northwoods is about five miles and several police jurisdictions away.Northwoods police confirmed an outside investigation into the case when FOX 2 spoke to police Chief Dennis Shireff on July 7. He said the St. Louis County police had been in touch with his department. Reported...

Cleanup continues in St. Louis County from weekend storm damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - Power problems are still an issue for thousands after intense storms over the weekend.South St. Louis County was one of the hardest hit areas to show the damage. A huge tree came crashing down on Kamper Drive after the intense storms. Meanwhile, Ameren crews are working nonstop to restore power.After several rounds of high winds and thunderstorms this weekend many customers were left in the dark. Crews have restored service to more than 83,000 customers affected by the recent storms. More than 1,350 crew members are working to restore power. Approximately 96,000 restored to date, and around 2,700 are currently out in St. Louis. Two St. Louis suburbs named among Top 50 ‘safest cities in the US’ “When Mother Nature calls, we are ready to go these last couple of storms, I would say the most challenging thing is falling trees, domino effect," said Tommie Bugett with Ameren. "Also broken poles and down wires, when we talk about replacing a pole that could take m...

Two “century plants” in bloom at CU Boulder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

Two agave plants are in rare bloom for the next couple of weeks after being planted nearly 30 years ago at the University of Colorado Boulder.The agave is also known as a “century plant” because of how rarely it blooms. CU Boulder Greenhouse Director John Clark said the plant takes anywhere from 20 to 40 years to mature, sometimes longer.An agave plant in the outdoor Western Native Garden is seen in bloom at the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Greenhouse on Monday. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)“It’s one of those plants that if I were to seed today, I may not get to see it actually bloom. It may be something for future generations,” Clark said. “So it’s something that you get to enjoy when you get to see it bloom, but really what you do enjoy is the shape of the plant itself through the majority of its life.”The blooms last for about two weeks before they shrivel up and the plant dies. ...

In-N-Out Burger employees barred from wearing masks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

The iconic fast-food chain In-N-Out Burger has informed employees in five states that they will no longer be allowed to wear medical masks unless they have a note from their doctor, according to a company memo leaked on Twitter earlier this month.  “We are introducing new mask guidelines that emphasizes the importance of customer service and the ability to show our Associates’ smiles and other facial features while considering the health and well-being of all individuals,” the memo reads.  The new rule goes into effect on August 14, according to the memo, and is aimed at workers in Texas, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Utah. Workers in California and Oregon who would like to protect themselves from COVID-19 and other illnesses by wearing a medical mask will still be allowed to, the L.A. Times reported.  In-N-Out employees who have a “specific medical condition or health concern that requires them to wear a mask” will have to provide a “valid medical note” to their store sup...

Man and woman injured after crash causes car to run into restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:49 GMT

A man and a woman were injured after a two-car crash in Van Nuys on Monday. The collision resulted in one of the cars crashing into a nearby restaurant. Los Angeles police responded to reports of a traffic collision at 6800 North Kester Avenue at 7:30 p.m. Video footage shows the aftermath of the crash where fire crews are on scene. A red vehicle remains in the middle of the road with airbags deployed, while the other white vehicle involved in the crash appears to be fully submerged in the restaurant with only its tail end hanging out.A red vehicle remains in the middle of the road with airbags deployed after a crash in Van Nuys (Source: Citizen)A red vehicle remains in the middle of the road with airbags deployed after a crash in Van Nuys (Source: Citizen)A white vehicle involved in a crash appears to be fully submerged in the restaurant with only its tail end hanging out. (Source: Citizen)Car crash in Van Nuys (Source: Citizen)A 40-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman were bo...